Man, I love Apfelwein

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Most likely was you, so many posts in this thread. I want to start a batch and let it sit for months, just was wondering if I needed to rack it. Thanks for the reply.

Ace_Club said:
I don't know if it was me you are talking about, but I recently mentioned my second batch that sat in the primary for 6 months and how fabulous it is. From what I've gathered reading through this massive thread is that the longer you can leave it in the primary, the better it gets.

:mug:
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While I constantly appreciate humor of all kinds should I seriously not add it. I do understand that the combustion was a well timed joke im not sure if the first part was serious ;) Thanks for the response

EDIT:
Forgot to answer your question. Right now there are 4 gallons in a 5 gallon tank. The store was out of juice on my first run. again, thanks :)
 
krisabsinthe said:
While I constantly appreciate humor of all kinds should I seriously not add it. I do understand that the combustion was a well timed joke im not sure if the first part was serious ;) Thanks for the response

EDIT:
Forgot to answer your question. Right now there are 4 gallons in a 5 gallon tank. The store was out of juice on my first run. again, thanks :)
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Haha just giving you a hard time. I remove the top and take a good wiff from time to time. If anything you will be benefiting things by topping off and removing the head space. Just remember to leave a little room for now because the juice you're adding has sugar and is going to continue your fermentation. ;)
 
gicts said:
Haha just giving you a hard time. I remove the top and take a good wiff from time to time. If anything you will be benefiting things by topping off and removing the head space. Just remember to leave a little room for now because the juice you're adding has sugar and is going to continue your fermentation. ;)
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he he, not a problem. Im just trying to get a good feel for this considering i plan on making TONS of it. Another question I have is, should ferment in the dark as much as possible, do I have to worry about it getting light struck? again I truly appreciate the response
 
Measuring right around 0.998-0.999, so I think I'm going to bottle...I have plans for the carboy :p

Old Orchard 100% cherry pomegranate juice was on sale, so I picked up half a gallon, thinking it might make for a tasty, if subtle, addition for carbing. I realize that 5 gallons of apfelwein should only be carbed with ~1/3 gallon of additional apple juice...but I've got 5.5 gallons and I only want to carb half. Is the 1/3 gallon of juice for 5 gallons of apfelwein still a good estimate even though I'm using a different type of juice? If so and my math is correct, does that mean I should carb the 2.75 gallons with 23-24 ounces of juice?
 
Just finished mixing up my first batch and came back to double check the directions... yes, after I was done :mad:. For some stupid reason I added 2 packages of yeast, don't know why but I did. What should I be worried about at this point, if anything?

Thanks
 
Chap said:
Just finished mixing up my first batch and came back to double check the directions... yes, after I was done :mad:. For some stupid reason I added 2 packages of yeast, don't know why but I did. What should I be worried about at this point, if anything?

Thanks
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Nothing. Two packets of yeast will not hurt anything. Just make sure you add your tally to the "How many gallons of Apfelwein" thread.
 
How about that lightstruck question? I'm curious about that as well... can this stuff get skunked from fermenting in uncovered glass?
 
nutty_gnome said:
How about that lightstruck question? I'm curious about that as well... can this stuff get skunked from fermenting in uncovered glass?
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I don't think light matters unless there are hops in it. That is why we keep beer from light.

However I think sunlight/heat can cause unwanted aging. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
 
So, I tapped into my primary on Sunday. I told myself I wasn't going to drink it all and that I would save some. Well, I've gone through about half of it already... Lame.

I've been drawing a gallon of it at a time into one of the bottles it came in. Last night I crossthreaded the top when I put it back in the fridge. This afternoon when I came home from work, the whole fridge smelled of apples and vanilla... It was awesome! :)

For the next batch, I'm thinking about incorporating .5 of raisins in the primary.
 
I have started tossing half a box of raisins in my brews as well.

I have a huge problem getting this stuff to sit around long enough to age:)
 
Just started my first ever batch. It's a modest 2.5 gallon run. I plan on bottling some as still in wine bottles, and priming some in beer bottles. I've got a water bath going for some plum wine, so I put it in as well. Will post any relevant updates as necessary.
 
nsw8148 said:
Be careful. 3 months ago I had 1 6 gallon carboy.

I started making Apfelwein and now I have 5:mug:
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I'm already +1 primary and I'm only on my 2nd batch. Very seriously considered picking up another 5gal BB specifically for this given how quickly my first batch is going.
 
nsw8148 said:
Be careful. 3 months ago I had 1 6 gallon carboy.

I started making Apfelwein and now I have 5:mug:
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LOL I am picking up at least 2 more carboys next month. I want to make more Apfelwein and a nice pumpkin cider for next Halloween. Here is what I am thinking of doing, any comments?

5 Pie Pumpkins (reduced to mash)
1 Gallon Apple Juice
4 Gallons water (used during pie reduction)
Clove
Vanilla
4 Cinnamon sticks
2 LB Brown sugar
2 LB Honey
Nottingham Ale Yeast
1 Month in Primary
Aged in bottles until Oct.2011
 
krisabsinthe said:
LOL I am picking up at least 2 more carboys next month. I want to make more Apfelwein and a nice pumpkin cider for next Halloween. Here is what I am thinking of doing, any comments?

5 Pie Pumpkins (reduced to mash)
1 Gallon Apple Juice
4 Gallons water (used during pie reduction)
Clove
Vanilla
4 Cinnamon sticks
2 LB Brown sugar
2 LB Honey
Nottingham Ale Yeast
1 Month in Primary
Aged in bottles until Oct.2011
Click to expand...

I dont think i'd use that many cinamon sticks, I used 2 in one of the batches I made and it was pretty strong.
 
nsw8148 said:
I dont think i'd use that many cinamon sticks, I used 2 in one of the batches I made and it was pretty strong.
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I just opened my Apfelwein after 7 days of fermentation to measure the gravity (1.000) and I have to agree that cinnamon goes along way. I would honestly say if you want a hint of it, then use 1/2 to 1/4 stick per 5 gallons. All I can hope for is that it mellows out a little over time, because I used 4 sticks in this batch (at the recommendation of a friend). It smells more like Cinnamon than anything else, kinda like a fireball (the candies).
 
I recently started priming by dumping about half a can of frozen concentrate into the bottling bucket and stirring it up.

Has anybody had any bottle bombs doing this?
 
I bottled 10 gallons yesterday after fermenting for three months. I drank the wine on top of the wine sediment. I had about two coffee mugs of it with just a little of yeast in each. It was pretty good. Wasn't the right temperature and wasn't the clearest glass. I woke up today with a headache! I could easily have the same amount of 13abv of grape wine without ill effects. Now I am prone to hangover. Really bad hangovers if I drink a lot but I didn't drink too much. I know Ed warned us about the side affects of too MUCH but I don't think I did. Do you guys have the same problem? Is there something we can do to minimize this? Maybe the yeast is producing a certain chemical because of nutrient problems? I heard people getting more headaches off cheap liquor is this related?
 
Nerdie said:
I bottled 10 gallons yesterday after fermenting for three months. I drank the wine on top of the wine sediment. I had about two coffee mugs of it with just a little of yeast in each. It was pretty good. Wasn't the right temperature and wasn't the clearest glass. I woke up today with a headache! I could easily have the same amount of 13abv of grape wine without ill effects. Now I am prone to hangover. Really bad hangovers if I drink a lot but I didn't drink too much. I know Ed warned us about the side affects of too MUCH but I don't think I did. Do you guys have the same problem? Is there something we can do to minimize this? Maybe the yeast is producing a certain chemical because of nutrient problems? I heard people getting more headaches off cheap liquor is this related?
Click to expand...

I dont get headaches after polishing off 2 22oz bottles of this stuff, I just feel weak the day after.

Are your juices preservative free?
 
THe only ingredients were apple juice and citric acid I think... Vitamin C thing.. that should be okay....

I use Mott's for one 5g... and Berkley & Jensen (sp?) for another 5g.... both had the same ingredients... from the start one has darker than the other though... and I think the Berkley and Jensen had salt looking things in the liquid...
 
nsw8148 said:
I dont get headaches after polishing off 2 22oz bottles of this stuff, I just feel weak the day after.

Are your juices preservative free?
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It's not any preservative that might be in the juice that's giving him the headaches it's the alcohol. I know several people who have the same problem in the morning after drinking apfelwine or hard cider. :drunk:
 
LiquidGold said:
It's not any preservative that might be in the juice that's giving him the headaches it's the alcohol. I know several people who have the same problem in the morning after drinking apfelwine or hard cider. :drunk:
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Dang, that sucks:(


Sorry man, my wife swears by Aleve:eek:
 
Bad weekend for me on the Apfelwein front.

After 2+ months I popped the top on the Cider (store bought = bad), pineapple, kiwi-strawberry one and the sorbate in the store bought cider obviously prevented fermentation despite all my efforts (yeast nutrient, stirring, warmer temps, more yeast. It was a disgusting smelly mess and not in a good way. Had to be dumped.

My back is bothering me and I asked my 20yr old son to bring it up from the basement and dump it. The buckets are all labeled but he somehow brought up the original style batch I was making with 10lbs of sugar instead of 2lbs and dumped that instead. It had been firecely fermenting for a month straight too. I am truly bummed.

On the plus side the batch of Apple/Pineapple/White Grape/Peach that I used 2lbs of white sugar and two pounds of brown sugar, smelled great and was the smoothest tasting sample yet as I bottled it.
 
First thanks for the awesome thread. I started my first batch 4 weeks ago tomorrow and everything went exactly as described. Tiny bubbles, funky smell, liquid clearing nicely. I'm ready to bottle but I have a few questions.

I would like to carb a few bottles but I have no idea how to do that. This is my first time making anything, I've read the bottling tips here https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/ but they seem to be mostly beer oriented.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Any bottle suggestions as well as techniques, do I add sugar to a gallon then bottle that or do I add sugar to each individual bottle. Or do I just say screw it and add Sprite :)

Quick update after reading through more of the posts in this thread I have seen a couple of different ideas. Seems like 3/4 cup of dextrose is the most commonly used amount to carb a 5 gallon carboy, that would equal roughly 2 1/2 tablespoons for a gallon, but I have also read a 1/4 cup for a gallon. Am I right in assuming that the more sugar the more potential carbonation and the more potential to explode? I would like to carb a gallon or two just to be able to compare.
 
So I've made this several times and I love it. I want to try and oak the next batch and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it. I did a search and tried to swim through the results but it was tough in this monster of a thread.

Instead of using a secondary which I never do with the Apfelwein, my plan was to add 1 oz. of medium toast French Oak cubes right when I make up the batch and then let it sit the normal 5-6 weeks that I let it sit before bottling.

What oak Apfelwein experiences have others had here? I realize I could also add more oak for less time towards the end but I was thinking it would be nice with the small amount and longer time to give it more complexity.

Thoughts?
 
the original post here says you can leave it in the primary for an extended amount of time, but how long is too long? I thought generally yeast will eventually die and give off flavors - is this not true in Apfelwein?
 
Just finished bottling my first batch.

First impressions, very dry, not sweet at all just a hint of apples. I imagine it will be very good cold. Oh yeah can definitely smell the alcohol in the bucket, came out at approx 8.75%

I ended up using .75 litre flip top bottles. I primed the last gallon and a half or so with about 1/4 cup of priming sugar I got from the homebrew store. I did not expect the reaction to be so violent when I dumped the sugar in to the bottling bucket but it was kind of cool to see something happen.

156597_10150094098604467_775474466_7250233_1579705_s.jpg


The 8 bottles on my right are carbonated, the 4 bottles on my left are going in the fridge to chill. The 2 1/2 gallons in the center are just waiting till I can get to Ikea to buy some more bottles. Assuming they make through the various tastings!

Sorry bout the small picture, took it with the laptop web cam so quality is not the greatest.

Thanks again Edwort and everyone thats contributed to the longest post ever.
 
Lodovico said:
So I've made this several times and I love it. I want to try and oak the next batch and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it. I did a search and tried to swim through the results but it was tough in this monster of a thread.

Instead of using a secondary which I never do with the Apfelwein, my plan was to add 1 oz. of medium toast French Oak cubes right when I make up the batch and then let it sit the normal 5-6 weeks that I let it sit before bottling.

What oak Apfelwein experiences have others had here? I realize I could also add more oak for less time towards the end but I was thinking it would be nice with the small amount and longer time to give it more complexity.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Anyone?
 
Well I am not familiar with using wood for anything except smoking meat. So I can't really say but a wood flavored apple based drink doesn't sound very appealing to me????
 
I was checking my airlock levels and noticed stuff starting to grow on my batch from March. It doesn't look terrible, just a thin layer of crap forming at the top (especially around the ring where the juice ends). I couldn't find anywhere in the thread addressing this, is my apfelwine now a lost cause? I have a hunch that I will need to open it up and taste/smell a sample to know for sure.

If the sample seems fine do I want to bottle it asap? Transfer it to a clean carboy and throw in some Campdem tablets? It would be a shame to lose a batch that's been aging for 8 months.
 
Lodovico said:
So I've made this several times and I love it. I want to try and oak the next batch and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about it. I did a search and tried to swim through the results but it was tough in this monster of a thread.

Instead of using a secondary which I never do with the Apfelwein, my plan was to add 1 oz. of medium toast French Oak cubes right when I make up the batch and then let it sit the normal 5-6 weeks that I let it sit before bottling.

What oak Apfelwein experiences have others had here? I realize I could also add more oak for less time towards the end but I was thinking it would be nice with the small amount and longer time to give it more complexity.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I added 2 split vanilla beans and a handful of medium toasted American oak cubes to a 5 gallon batch. It was in the primary for 4 weeks then I racked to a secondary and added the vanilla/oak. It's been two weeks so far. After 1 week I couldn't taste any vanilla or oak but it's probably too early.

Next time I think I might add the vanilla to the primary, and then add the toasted oak cubes straight into the primary after 4 weeks.

I'll be sampling again in the next few days and will let you know how things are coming along.
 
I would clean out the airlock and replace it with new water or vodka. Poeple ferment wine in open fermenters so I am sure you are fine. I notice even with starsan after a couple months the water starts to get icky. For long term fermenting 3 months and longer you should probably use the hard liquor method. just so you don't have to clean it or worry.

somecallmetex said:
I was checking my airlock levels and noticed stuff starting to grow on my batch from March. It doesn't look terrible, just a thin layer of crap forming at the top (especially around the ring where the juice ends). I couldn't find anywhere in the thread addressing this, is my apfelwine now a lost cause? I have a hunch that I will need to open it up and taste/smell a sample to know for sure.

If the sample seems fine do I want to bottle it asap? Transfer it to a clean carboy and throw in some Campdem tablets? It would be a shame to lose a batch that's been aging for 8 months.
Click to expand...
 

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